“Silicon Valley gets the Hamilton treatment”FINANCIAL TIMES
Rafe Uddin
“A tool to spark critical conversations and identify common ground”KQED
Pendarvis Harshaw
“Wildly creative, bristling with kinetic energy”BROADWAY WORLD
Steve Murray
“Silicon Valley gets the Hamilton treatment”FINANCIAL TIMES
Rafe Uddin
“A tool to spark critical conversations and identify common ground”KQED
Pendarvis Harshaw
“Wildly creative, bristling with kinetic energy”BROADWAY WORLD
Steve Murray
Press
World Premiere,
we did that
Thanks to the people who SOLD OUT the 40-show run at the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), making Co-Founders one of the highest demanded shows in Bay Area history.
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→Synopsis
“Co-Founders” is the story of two unlikely partners chasing impossible entrepreneurial dreams. Esata, a black woman from Oakland, and Conway, a small town college dropout, take on the most competitive startup accelerator in Silicon Valley — where the privileged make a killing while the people across the bridge grind to survive.
→Development History
The Public Theater (Joe's Pub, NYC)
Musical Review / 2022
The Strand Theater (A.C.T. SF)
American Conservatory Theater, Writers Workshop / 2022
NAMT Festival of New Works (NYC)
National Alliance of Musical Theater / 2020
O.D.C. Theater (SF)
Staged Workshop / 2019
Netflix (Silicon Valley)
Nextplay Events Showcase / 2018
Folsom St Foundry (SF)
Staged Workshop / 2018
Palace of Fine Arts (SF)
Lean Startup Conference / 2018
Silicon Valley Fashion Week (SF)
BetaBrand Showcase / 2017
→Creative Team
WRITER
(01)
Ryan Nicole Austin
Grammy-nominated polymath working at the intersection of art & activism. Featured on TEDx San Francisco, ESPN's NBA at Christmas, performed for Google, Sony, LinkedIn, Apple & Barack Obama. Playwright-in-residence at Public Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, California Shakespeare Theater, and American Conservatory Theater. B.A. in Sociology and Political Science, San Diego State University.
WRITER / PRODUCER
(02)
Beau Lewis
Emmy-winning writer, producer, viral media expert. Music videos exceed 250M views. Featured in NY Times, Atlantic, Fortune, Good Morning America. CEO of Rhyme Combinator. Co-Founded GoldieBlox board. BS Engineering from Stanford, international relations focus from Oxford.
WRITER
(03)
Adesha Adefela
Actor in musical theater since age 5. Independent artist and Billboard-charted musician from Oakland, CA. Shared stages with Jazmine Sullivan, Carl Thomas, Ledisi, Goapele. Co-starred in Warner Brothers reality TV show.
DIRECTOR
(04)
Jamil Jude
Director, producer, playwright, dramaturg. Artistic Director at Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre in Atlanta. Co-Founder of The New Griots Festival and Colored People's Theatre in Washington, DC. Focus on socially relevant and justice-driven work.
CO-PRODUCER
(05)
Anthony Veneziale
Conceiver/co-creator of Tony Award-winning "Freestyle Love Supreme." 20+ years performing/teaching improv, leader in musical improvisation. Founding member of American Immigrants (SF). Worked with Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs. Co-founded Speechless improv thinking company.
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
(06)
Victoria Theodore
Pianist, singer-songwriter, composer, music director. Beyoncé Formation World Tour (2016), Stevie Wonder touring band (2007+). Performed for President Obama, Queen Elizabeth. Arranged national anthem for 2020 NFL Kickoff, co-arranged Super Bowl LIII. Music Director for Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Broadway 2017-2018).
VISUAL DIRECTOR
(07)
David Richardson
Visual director and co-inventor of PRISM holograms. Work recognized as transformative to storytelling by Forbes and Guardian. Recent show: CAGES (Los Angeles and London).
Does it take the same hustle
to sell a tape out of a trunk
as a computer out of a garage?